Who We Are

Signature Programs at The Bristal

In support of our commitment to providing our residents with fuller, more rewarding lifestyles, The Bristal has created a series of initiatives known as our Signature Programs. These enriching programs are designed to help residents flourish in all aspects of their daily lives — body, mind and spirit — ensuring they remain engaged and involved in the experiences, events and environments that surround them. Any program involving resident participation is voluntary in nature, and these programs are created to evolve and adapt based on continuing resident feedback. They are all intended to make life at The Bristal as meaningful as it can be.

Our Place Memory Café

A place for sharing and making new memories

Finding it difficult to enjoy social experiences as a primary care giver for a loved one facing memory loss? The Bristal Our Place Memory Café could be just the place for you.

The Our Place Memory Café is a Signature Program offered by The Bristal that welcomes people and their loved ones into a secure, comfortable, and socially engaging venue (at a local restaurant) where they can enjoy an afternoon of fun and entertainment among people who genuinely understand and care.

The idea comes from a model designed by a psychologist in Holland who recognized the need for people living with a diagnosis of Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease to continue benefiting from seeking and keeping positive social connections — as well as enabling caregivers to meet and share similar experiences. Not only will you enjoy an afternoon of fun, entertainment and relaxation, but you’ll also encounter love, patience, acceptance and camaraderie with new friends who are going through the same. Learn more.

The Bristal Helping Hands

Our Team of Community Crusaders

Residents of The Bristal have found a great new way to share their years of sage wisdom while releasing all that youthful energy! We call this meaningful program The Bristal Helping Hands, and it all started when groups of our residents and staff came together to organize for community support. Since then, members of The Bristal Helping Hands committees at each of our communities regularly seek similar service-based projects for staying active and engaged as volunteers. With neighborhood programs in perpetual need of resources and our seniors eager to stay in touch and involved, The Bristal Helping Hands presents a win-win opportunity for both our residents and the communities they serve.

So, if you know of a program that could use a little help… we just happen to know a group of amazing volunteers!

BBU: The Bristal Better U™

Continuing Education and Enrichment Program

The longer you live, the more you learn. This is the spirit behind the creation of BBU — The Bristal Better U. Developed in conjunction with Hofstra University Continuing Education and PACE University, The Bristal Better U is an exciting new lifelong learning and personal enrichment program that we offer here at The Bristal. This innovative distance learning program is completely voluntary, it is structured in flexible and easily accessible ways, and as the name implies, it’s a great way for our residents to continue exploring, learning and engaging in the fascinating world around them. The BBU presents lectures, discourses and other educational components of interest to residents throughout all communities of The Bristal, covering a wide range of topics of both general and specific interest. Society, global culture and politics, science, media, entertainment and more — the areas presented and taught on are as diverse as the imaginations of our residents. And we are proud to be aligned with the Hofstra University Continuing Education and PACE University programs in their development and delivery. Click here to view the archives of past lectures.

SmartChoice

Brain Food Program

A vital part of healthy living, of course, is a commitment to healthy eating. The chefs at The Bristal have made it their mission to present our residents every day with more nutritionally-conscious choices — from breakfast to dinner to snacks in between — but never at the expense of enjoying the simple pleasures of eating. They’ve created smart and seasonal new recipes based on Mediterranean diets that focus on “clean foods,” foods that promote healthy brain function and improve cognitive ability. The Bristal partners with local farmers and providers to ensure that only the freshest ingredients go into every meal. Fresh herbs and spices enable us to be more creative with our seasonings, especially when preparing meals with no salts added or concentrated sweets. We educate residents on how smarter eating is paramount to promoting better health and well-being, especially at advanced ages. And we stress that the foods we choose to ingest impact us body, mind and spirit. Our residents are certainly getting the message, making wiser choices each day.

Alluring Eats

Appetizing Dining Program

Since eating shouldn’t be so serious all the time, the chefs at The Bristal are also committed to making food fun and creative for our residents. We have days where lunch and dinner menus are created along certain lively themes, holidays and entertaining events: Country Western, Italian Night, Oktoberfest, Cinco de Mayo and more. We create Chef Action Stations where Sautés, Stir Frys, Carvings, and Omelets are prepared to order among our residents. Residents love the interaction and sights, sounds and smells. At The Executive’s Table, residents get a chance to spend a special evening of elegant dining with the community’s Executive Director in our private dining room. We hold fun and festive food tastings and demos to promote new foods and increase their appeal. And ssshhhh…. we even bend the rules every now and then and snack on delicious munchies and desserts. Or, in addition to wine and beer at dinner, we introduce specialty cocktails at The Bristal Spotlight Tavern. All in all, we have fun with food, and we are conscious, of course, to comply with all religious holidays and observances.

Mobility Enhancement Program

One of the most important initiatives we’ve established for our residents is The Bristal Mobility Enhancement Program. It is designed to reduce the risks of falling and of fall-related injuries and hospitalizations. Elderly adults who have sustained a fall often develop a fear of falling, and this fear can cause them to avoid or to limit everyday living activities. The problem is, doing so leads to reduced mobility as well as a loss of physical fitness, which only increases their risk of falling. The Bristal Mobility Enhancement Program is a voluntary program that combines the expertise of physical therapists, nurses and primary care physicians in one comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, addressing both the medical and physical risk factors that commonly result in falls. It begins with a complimentary screening from which a customized treatment plan is created, one that is individualized per every resident’s unique needs.

Hands-On & Hearts-In®

Staff Sensitivity Training Program

Education and credentials may come and go, but you cannot teach caring. Genuine caring comes from the heart, and it’s a quality we regard as essential at The Bristal. This is why we not only demand that all personnel possess the proper training, background and experience, but we also desire our team to gain deeper insight into daily resident living. The goal: to inspire greater sensitivity in every interaction.

For this reason, we have implemented a comprehensive sensitivity training program at The Bristal that we call Hands-On & Hearts-In®. By better understanding the challenges our residents may be experiencing day-to-day, our staff becomes that much more sensitive to our residents’ varying degrees of ability and capacity. It makes for more compassionate decision making and more realistic goal setting — all of which results in better care, happier days and improved quality of life for our residents.

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